


Dead To Me

by Falcine



Series: count down the days [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, but it will stop being one sided in later instalments, it's mostly one sided percico for now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 12:13:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11184882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Falcine/pseuds/Falcine
Summary: Nico’s been avoiding Percy for months since they both clawed their way back out of Tartarus. Jason decides to stage an intervention.





	Dead To Me

**Author's Note:**

> Part of an AU where Nico's powers include knowing when people will die!

Nico barely talks to Percy for a month after the whole mess with Gaea. He tells himself it’s because there’s no time, because Percy is busy doing who knows what to help Chiron out around camp and Nico himself mostly drifts from New Rome and back these days anyways, so there’s—there’s really not enough time to sit down and talk through any of this shit anyways. 

Not that Nico wants to do much talking. 

He wants to—well, jury’s still out on what exactly it is he wants, but it sure as hell isn’t talking. 

If he’s honest with himself (and he is, sometimes, late at night when there’s no one else around to witness it), Nico has to admit that mostly he’s just mad. 

It’s a familiar enough feeling, this strange, tired rage that sinks his stomach whenever the subject of Percy Jackson arises, but Nico has spent months trying to untangle his life from Percy’s and he doesn’t appreciate all that complication reaching out to ensnare him all over again. 

So it’s easier to veer away from the campfire, now, quickly sidestep the training grounds, and settle up against a tree somewhere where there’s no chance of ever running into Percy Jackson. 

It’s something of a shock when Jason steps out of the trees instead. 

Nico narrows his eyes. “If you’re here to drag me back to singing kumbaya with the other campers, you’re wasting your time.” 

“Good thing I’m not here for that, then,” Jason says. 

“Right. So you’re just here to admire the shrubbery then?”

Jason takes a step forward. The shadows fall over his face, making it look more sombre than Nico suspects he’d like it to be, but the next words that fall out of Jason’s mouth proves him wrong. “I wanted to talk to you,” Jason says. “It’s kind of important, so if you wouldn’t mind…” 

The instinct to snap out something caustic and get the  _ hell  _ out of there claws its way up Nico’s throat, but he swallows hard. He’s been working on that, lately. 

“Mind what?” he asks faintly instead.

Jason gestures behind him. “It might be easier if you come to my cabin.” 

At that, Nico bursts out laughing. “Aren’t you afraid your girlfriend’s gonna find me lurking around your room at night?” 

“Ha, very funny,” Jason says, then rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck. “I just thought it might be easier without the threat of someone walking in, you know. Not that this—not that it’s _serious_ or anything, but you work so hard to keep up your mysterious son of Hades, Ghost King thing, so I figured…” He gestures behind him again, a little helplessly, and _dammit_ Jason is one of the only people earnest enough to make Nico’s prickly shield retreat, just a little. 

“Shut up, Grace,” he says, but then he pushes off the tree. “Let’s go.” 

Jason beams. Nico tries not to smile in return as they make their way towards the Zeus cabin. 

Of course, all bets are off when the door swings open and there, standing right in the middle of Jason’s room, is Percy fucking Jackson. 

If it weren’t so pathetic, Nico would’ve lunged for the door. Instead, he tenses and turns slowly to glare at Jason. “What’s going on?” he asks, almost wishing he was fighting literal monsters instead of just figurative ones. 

“You two need to talk,” Jason says. “I’ll be waiting outside.” 

Then the door is clicking shut, and Nico makes another slow turn, not sure where he can go.  _ Dammit Grace,  _ he thinks,  _ you could at least put up some decorations in here.  _

At last, when there’s nowhere else to turn, Nico looks Percy dead on. 

The son of Poseidon looks pretty gobsmacked, himself. There’s a small pleasure in how hesitant Percy looks, his hands curling and uncurling at his sides, lips pursed in a strained frown. Nico stays silent, wanting to make him squirm. 

Slowly, the strange shifting numbers that Nico always looks for when he sees Percy appear. They shuffle, rearrange themselves like floating dust, and Nico breathes a small sigh of relief when they stay. He hasn’t had a chance to get enough of a good look at Percy since… well since everything, but the time is still the same. It’s the same time it’s always been. It hasn’t changed, even if everything else has. 

Percy Jackson still dies somewhere in his 80s (Nico has never bothered to count the years to any sort of exactness). The numbers remain pretty steadfast on that one. 

The silence stretches between them, taut and tight. Nico doesn’t want to be the one to break it. 

As it happens, Percy snaps first. 

“Am I… did I… do something wrong?” he asks, faltering. He starts to pace around the room, his footsteps landing heavily as his hands fidget uselessly at his sides. “Are you mad at me for something? Because I swear, whatever it is, I didn’t mean it and I’m really  _ really  _ sorry, but you’ve been just… weird ever since… since…” 

“Since you came back from hell?” 

Percy’s mouth snaps shut. 

The laugh rips out of Nico’s throat too loudly, but once that’s out, everything else tumblrs along with it. “I don’t know how you can be so peachy keen and ready to get back to your normal life or whatever it is you’re doing now, but I’m not so ready to forgive you just yet, Jackson,” he snaps. 

“What was I supposed to do, Nico?” It’s the pure simplicity of that that makes Nico want to never ever talk to Percy ever again. It’s like there was never any option. As soon as he was teetering over that cliffside with Annabeth on one side and everyone else on the other, Percy’s mind was made. Breaking up hasn’t changed the conviction in Percy’s voice. 

Nico drags a hand through his hair. “I don’t know,” he says, because there’s no arguing with that kind of logic. 

“Then why…” Percy trails off, probably because  _ then why are you still mad at me?  _ is a question too stupid even for him. 

“I wish I wasn’t,” Nico says through gritted teeth. “But I also wish you’d taken a moment to use your goddamn brain, Percy. Maybe thought of the rest of us instead of going ahead and doing your patented stupid self sacrificing bullshit.”

At that, Percy’s temper ignites. Some part of Nico thinks,  _ finally.  _ He takes three steps forward, until he’s leaning over Nico, eyes raging like the sea. “I had no  _ choice, _ ” he growls. 

“You did,” Nico counters. “You always have a choice.” 

“Well maybe I did!” Percy explodes, stalking closer and closer. “But I couldn’t—I  _ never  _ would’ve let Annabeth fall, and just because you can just write people off as dead doesn’t mean that  _ I  _ can!” He slams a hand down on the doorframe, and Nico wonders if he knows how predatory he comes off, now, how dangerous, how easy it all seems. 

Perhaps this is what Tartarus does to you, too. Nico feels his own simmering anger, beating like a pulse under his skin. He tilts his chin up and refuses to cringe back. “Is that what you think I wanted?” 

“It sure sounds like it is,” Percy snaps. 

“Well, it’s not.” 

“Then what  _ do  _ you want? What did I mess up this time? You might as well yell at me so we can both get it over with.” 

“Your numbers disappeared,” Nico finally says. He closes his eyes, pushing away the frenzy he remembers from that terrifying moment where he look at Percy and saw nothing. Nothing but the blank darkness of Tartarus. “I couldn’t see them anymore. I knew you were going to let go before you actually did, you asshole.” 

Suddenly, Percy looks very tired. He doesn’t back off, but he does sag a little, and Nico is suddenly aware of how that brings his face just that much closer. 

“I… I didn’t know that,” Percy says, his breath blowing across Nico’s cheek. He looks fucking shattered. 

“Yeah,” Nico bites out. “Of course you didn’t.” 

“So you didn’t know?” 

Nico laughs again, a little breathlessly. “ _ No, _ ” he says. “I had no goddamn clue if you’d ever manage to drag your ass back out when I let you go.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.” 

Percy furrows his brow, and, well, this close, Nico can see the sweep of his eyelashes when he blinks in confusion and it makes him want to die a little, right now, numbers be screwed. 

“I just thought…,” Percy trails off, frowning harder. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” 

“Mostly so this didn’t happen,” Nico says, but it’s missing most of his usual barb. He wants to shrug and lean away, but Percy’s arm is still on the doorframe and there’s not much room to lean into. 

Then, they’re both all too aware of how close Percy is, how edged in Nico is. It’s all a mess, really, and Nico wants nothing more than to melt into the shadows, if there were any lurking around. 

Percy swallows, hard, the line of his throat tight as his Adam’s apple bobs. He works his jaw as if he wants to say something, and Nico is desperately certain that he doesn’t want to hear it. It would be easy enough for Nico to tilt his face up, now, grab Percy and—and what?

(And, see, Nico doesn’t really know what went down with him and Annabeth, and he doesn’t really  _ want  _ to know in particular, but it’s impossible not to think about that now.) 

So he blurts, “They’re back now, though. I can see your numbers again,” and winces because that was absolutely not the right thing to say. 

Instantly, Percy jerks back, the numbers flickering by his face following. “Don’t tell me!” he shouts. 

“What?” 

“I mean. That’s good. I’m glad. I don’t want to, er, worry you,” Percy says awkwardly, back peddling so back Nico’s head spins. “Just—don’t tell me what they say?” 

Nico snorts. “You die tomorrow, Jackson. Better go get your will straightened out.” 

“Just for that, I’m not leaving you anything,” Percy says, finally not panicking anymore. He settles, standing a comfortable distance away from Nico, and Nico hates himself a little bit for wanting him to come back a little closer. 

“Like I ever wanted anything of yours, Jackson,” Nico says, then has to laugh at himself. 

Percy looks at him with this funny little tilt to his head, as if he’s trying to figure Nico out. There’s nothing hostile about him anymore, a far cry from the instant stormy rage earlier, but the thread of tension is still taut between them. Nico wonders if it’ll ever go away. 

“I am sorry,” Percy finally says. 

“For what?” Nico asks, not wanting to let him off the hook this easy. 

“For everything, I guess,” Percy mutters. “For not really getting it. I gotta be honest, I don’t think I ever will get what it’s like to be you.” 

“Well, halle-fucking-lujah for that.” 

“I still am sorry, though,” Percy says, and it’s so damn sincere that Nico feels the tension bunching up his shoulders ease up a little. “You were right. I wasn’t thinking of much then, and I guess… it’s something I have to work on, okay?” 

“I guess I could’ve told you about the numbers earlier.” 

Percy grins again, wide and relieved. “Damn right you could’ve, di Angelo.” 

“Just don’t—don’t do that again,” Nico manages. “I don’t like. Not knowing.” 

“Oh gods forbid the terrifying son of Hades deal with death like a normal person.” 

Nico snorts and doesn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, he eases himself off the door and grabs the handle. 

“Are you going to stop ignoring me now?” Percy calls when he’s halfway out the door. 

A smile works its way onto Nico’s face before he can help it. The last thread of tension loosens, uncurls, and Nico feels like he can finally breathe after months of suffocating. “Maybe if you’re lucky,” he calls back, then he slams the door behind him and walks away in the shadows. Before he leaves, he makes sure to flip Jason off. 


End file.
